


just the sweet weather and the peacock feathers

by leighbot



Series: Tomlinshaw Kidfic [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 19:22:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2878037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighbot/pseuds/leighbot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“I didn’t mean-” the boy started. He shook his head again and Louis was momentarily distracted by the movement of his curls. He started over, his words coming slow like molasses. “I just thought I’d come over and introduce myself. My name’s Harry. We moved in next door a couple weeks ago.”</i>
</p><p>  <i>“We?”</i></p><p><i>The faintest pink blush colored Harry’s cheeks. “Yeah, me and my- my </i>roommate<i>. Anyway, I also happen to be good with kids, maybe she- Beth, did you say- would like to meet me. Distract her from whatever is the matter.”</i></p><p>  <i>Louis bit his lip and frowned harder. Beth continued to cry against his chest, her face red and fists clenched in frustration. He stepped back from the door and motioned Harry inside. With a feeling of concern, he shifted Beth once more so she could see the newcomer, lifting her fist in a waving motion. "I’m Louis. Beth, look who came to meet you. This is Harold. He’s from out yonder."</i></p><p> </p><p>Or: Harry and Zayn are dating and want Louis to find his person, too</p>
            </blockquote>





	just the sweet weather and the peacock feathers

**Author's Note:**

> More Tomlinshaw kidfic. Because I just cannot stop myself. Beth is six months. As always, can be read independent of the series.
> 
> This is tagged Harry/Louis for friendship interactions only. No lingering gazes or pining to be found. Harry is madly in love with Zayn and Louis is still waiting for his someone.
> 
> Nick is not in this coda, but is in the rest of the coda/drabble series.
> 
> Title from Fall Out Boy's Lullabye.

Beth had been crying for thirty minutes- and the upstairs neighbor had been banging on the ground for a solid ten- when Louis first heard the faint knocking. He waited until he heard it again to be sure it wasn’t simply a new stomping pattern before making his way toward the door, cradling Beth in his left arm and rocking her gently as he hummed a lullaby. Opening the door and expecting to see one of the many middle-aged divorced men living in the building, he was struck silent at the sight of a lad about his age with a mess of curly brown hair and bright green eyes. He continued rocking Beth almost distractedly as he took in the boy’s smile and his bare feet, before meeting his eyes again. The lad didn’t look terribly upset, as there was a small smile on his face, but Louis still felt it might be best to start with an apology.

“I’m sorry,” he began, “it’s her first night away from her mum. She’s confused, but I know she’ll drop off soon. Beth’s a good baby, honest, she’s just teething.”

The boy’s smile just grew wider at his words, pink lips stretched up to crinkly eyes. He laughed, soft and low, and shook his head gently, his curls bouncing. His voice was deep when he spoke. “I don’t mind. Just thought I could offer some help. Babies love me.”

Louis frowned at him, shifting Beth to his right arm and shushing her again, resting his finger gently against her lips in an effort to distract her. She was not having it. “I’m good with babies too, I have four younger sisters. Beth is fine,” he argued. Her crying grew impossibly louder in complete defiance before Louis pulled her to his chest, rubbing her back gently with his hand.

“I didn’t mean-” the boy started. He shook his head again and Louis was momentarily distracted by the movement of his curls. He started over, his words coming slow like molasses. “I just thought I’d come over and introduce myself. My name’s Harry. We moved in next door a couple weeks ago.”

“We?”

The faintest pink blush colored Harry’s cheeks. “Yeah, me and my- my _roommate_. Anyway, I also happen to be good with kids, maybe she- Beth, did you say- would like to meet me. Distract her from whatever is the matter.”

Louis bit his lip and frowned harder. Beth continued to cry against his chest, her face red and fists clenched in frustration. He stepped back from the door and motioned Harry inside. With a feeling of concern, he shifted Beth once more so she could see the newcomer, lifting her fist in a waving motion. "I’m Louis. Beth, look who came to meet you. This is Harold. He’s from out yonder."

"S'just Harry, actually." Harry waved his fingers in front of her face, distracting her into silence for several seconds before her cries started again.

“As I was saying, Beth, this is _Harold_. He’s come to fix you since Daddy can’t. Not sure how he’ll appeal to your demon side. Maybe you’ll be distracted by his unkempt mop of curls, huh?”

Harry’s _hey_ was long and drawn-out but a smile dimpled his cheeks and Louis ignored him. He reached up- _way_ up, this lad was _tall_ \- and pressed his hand against Harry’s shoulder, steering him into the sitting area. He pressed down once they got to Louis’ favorite arm chair, letting Harry settle back into it before leveling him a look. He stared for a moment, watching Harry’s owlish eyes blink up at him, before wagging a finger in his face.

“You have sixty seconds to work your magic,” he warned. Harry beamed as he reached his arms up for Beth, letting Louis transfer her gently into his arms.

The initial movement irritated her further but she was growing tired, whimpers replacing her screams. Harry brought her further into his chest and smiled at her, cooing gently. He cupped his hand under her bottom and patted gently, using a rocking motion as he tilted his head, his curls falling forward to tickle her nose and mouth. She inhaled sharply at the new sensation, her hand coming up to grab a curl and tug and her cries quieting.

The banging from the upstairs neighbor continued for another minute as Beth tried fitting her fist and the curly lock in her mouth together. She was still breathing heavy from her fit but she frowned and pulled the curl tighter when she couldn’t reach her mouth.

“Ow, _hey_ ,” Harry drawled, pulling a silly face. Beth giggled and smiled at him, her gums pink but for the two teeth fighting their way through.

Louis folded his arms and pouted. “This is totally unfair, I don’t have curls.”

Harry laughed outright, startling Beth again. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to focus on the new face. He smiled wider and carefully settled her in one arm, bringing his hand up to tickle her tummy. “Hi, beautiful Beth,” Harry cooed. She smiled at the sound of her name, a loud laugh following. “You’re just the most prettiest littlest girly in the whole worldy, aren’t you?”

“My baby understands proper English, Harold,” Louis objected, feeling slightly betrayed at how intrigued his daughter was by the new boy.

“M’name really is just Harry,” he protested again, looking away from Beth and up to Louis, his eyes even greener than they had been in the hallway.

“You’re holding my baby, I can call you whatever I want. Plus, I think she likes you more than me already so I half-hate you, hope that’s okay.”

Harry laughed again and Louis grinned, always a glutton for self-satisfaction. He’d keep this boy around if for nothing else than his predilection to laughing with Louis at every opportunity.

Harry turned back to Beth, running his fingers through her soft brown wispy hair. “She looks like you.”

If possible, Louis’ self-pride rose even higher. “She looks more like her mum, but she has my eyes.”

Harry nodded. “So, where’s her mum? Girl’s night or summat?”

Louis settled on the arm of the chair next to them, wiggling his fingers in front of Beth as she dropped the fistful of Harry’s hair to reach for her dad. “She’s at her home. We split before we found out about this one here and it didn’t feel right to force anything. Beth’s been living at Aly’s since she was born and I was staying in her basement until I found this place.”

“Sharing custody must be hard,” Harry remarked, rocking Beth gently as her blinking became more frequent. “I think she might be about to drop off, should I put her down somewhere?”

Louis scoffed and tugged the now-abandoned curls gently. “I wasn’t planning on letting her sleep on the floor; I did remember to get her a crib. Come on, I’ll take her.”

“I got her,” Harry protested, rising from the chair and following Louis down the narrow hallway. Louis nodded at the crib tucked into the corner of his room, kicking aside some of the mess as Harry snorted at him.

“Sorry, I’m a bit of a slob. My mum said that’d change with Beth, but I think it’s just getting worse.”

“You should see my place, it’s worse than this. I can’t clean it quickly enough before Z- before it gets messy.” Louis noticed the way Harry stumbled over his words and stored the questions that resulted for later. He was beginning to make assumptions about Harry and his _roommate_ but left it to the lad to clarify.

Harry gently lowered Beth into her crib until she rested in the middle of her mattress. He grabbed a couple errant toys from near her and tucked them along the edge and out of her reach before Louis came up behind him to lay a blanket over her legs. They stood there together silently for a moment, watching Beth as she drifted off.

“Thanks, Harry,” Louis whispered. “I’m not sure what magic your curls have, but they saved the day. M’pretty sure the people upstairs were going to throttle me.”

He led them from the room and into the small kitchen area, grabbing them a couple beers before continuing back to the sitting room. Harry sprawled into the armchair again, kicking his long legs up and letting his bare feet rest on the ottoman. Louis settled into a corner of the sofa, flipping the telly on and surfing through channels in silence until he settled on program recapping the day’s footie highlights.

The questions from earlier swirled in his mind and he decided to ask them. He had never been much for subtlety. “Alright, laddy. You know my sordid, slaggy history, now tell me yours. How many souls have your curls claimed?”

Harry ruefully shook his head, his hand pushing his hair back from his face. He took a sip of his beer and plucked at the label. “Don’t have much of a sordid history. M’afraid I’m rather boring, to be quite honest. I’m nineteen, lived in a tiny village in Cheshire till I moved here for Uni. I work in a bakery around the corner, and. Well,” at this he paused, his lips pressing together into a tight line. He raised his eyes and met Louis’, the green shining in the glow of the TV screen. “I live with my boyfriend, Zayn.”

Louis nodded. “Yeah, I kind of assumed. You say the word ‘roommate’ weird.” He laughed at the open defiance on Harry’s face. “M’not one to judge, sweetheart,” he assured. “I’m hypothetically bi, myself. I just haven’t had the chance to actually test it; Aly and I were together since our first year.”

Harry beamed at him. “Haven’t had a chance to test it?”

Louis laughed and shook his head, shrugging. “It was a lot of fun to talk a bit dirty about some of my mates on the footie team with her. Worked for us both."

Harry's face lit up even brighter and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. "I’ve got a couple mates who play footie. I’d love to set you up with them, test you out.”

"I have a baby, Harold; I can't exactly resort to my slaggy youth."

Harry waved him off and leaned back again. "Nonsense."

Louis just rolled his eyes and settled further into his corner of the sofa. They were quiet for a couple minutes before Louis turned his head back towards the boy, biting his lip. "Harry?"

Harry looked over at him, his face shaded in blues from the telly light. “Yeah?”

"Thanks for helping with Beth, not many neighbors would've done."

"Pay me back by letting me find you a guy. Between Zayn and me, we know lots of people; we'll find a good first lad for you."

Louis grinned at him and shook his head in exasperation. "One night. You get one chance and then you leave me alone about it."

Harry grinned, his dimples out in full force as he stretched over with his hand out. "Deal."

Louis grabbed his hand and shook once firm, both of them settling back into their spots and turning towards the screen. Louis tossed the clicker to Harry, motioning for him to pick something else. Harry picked a Nigella rerun that they soon dozed off to.

***

Beth woke them the next morning, furious she'd been soothed the night before and making up for the lost time. Harry raided Louis' fridge and- finding nothing- popped next door to his flat, bringing back a handful of groceries and the prettiest boy Louis had ever seen.

“Lou, this is Zayn. He’s the love of my life. Zayn, this is Louis and Beth. She’s the other love of my life. Sorry you three have to meet this way.”

Zayn laughed, light and gentle. He nodded and waved to Louis, who was prepping a bottle for Beth, cradling her in his arms.

“Can I assume the boy you set me up with will be half as attractive as you lot?” he teased.

Zayn furrowed his brows in question, and Harry smiled brightly at him. “I’m thinking that footie guy you know. The one who modeled for your class last semester? Louis needs to try out his first boy.”

“I think Liam’s straight,” Zayn mused, running his hand down Harry’s back.

Harry shuffled away and started organizing the supplies he’d brought. “Doesn’t hurt to ask,” he shrugged. “I think we still have his number somewhere.”

Zayn laughed again and walked closer to Louis. “Can I say hello to the girl who stole my boyfriend’s heart?”

Louis smiled and nodded, shifting Beth into Zayn’s arms before turning to grab the finished bottle. “You can feed her if you’d like,” he offered.

Zayn took the bottle and helped her prop it up. "Hazza's obsessed with children, we'll both be lucky if he ever leaves this place," Zayn spoke softly as Beth stared up at him, her fists tight against the bottle.

Harry scoffed from his station, “Like you’re not already besotted.”

"Enough flirting, miss," Louis scolded mildly, a finger tracing her brows. "You've a long way to go before boys, and this one's taken."

She pulled back from the bottle, wiggling in Zayn’s hold. He placed the bottle on the counter for a second, wriggling his fingers in front of her. She clutched at one, bringing it to her mouth and gumming it gently. Zayn scrunched his nose in a smile, a slight wince on his face when he felt her teeth. He slipped his finger away and brought the bottle back to her mouth.

Louis nodded for Zayn to follow him into the sitting area, Harry content at the stove top. The smell of bacon followed them out as they sat either end of the sofa, Louis tucking his legs under himself as he watched Zayn with his daughter.

“Careful man, she’s a bit spitty.”

“S’ok, my youngest sister was too. Used to love when me mum let me hold’er and feed her.”

Louis perked up. “You’ve sisters? Man, my life was swarmed with little girls. There’s four of them and my mum and her fiancé have twins on the way. I’m hoping for at least one of them to be a boy.”

Zayn smiled and set the empty bottle aside. He gripped Beth’s waist, letting her feet touch his thighs and encouraging her to bend her knees as she smiled. “I’ve got an older and two younger, my whole life has been trying to escape them painting my nails and putting makeup on me. Harry’s got an older sister, but Gemma’s cool.”

“Stop liking my sister more than me,” Harry complained from the doorway, a fond smile on his lips as he watched Zayn with Beth. He walked closer and draped himself over the back of the sofa, smiling at Beth’s cooing greeting. “Food’s ready, Lou.”

“Thanks, Harry. You didn’t have to, you know. Surprisingly, I am capable of taking care of breakfast.”

“You had a half-eaten package of biscuits and lime marmalade. What were you planning on eating?” Harry shot back when he turned to face Louis, his ever-present grin dimpling his cheeks. Louis scowled and poked his finger into one of them, causing them to deepen further.

“Harry has mothering tendencies,” Zayn explained, standing up and holding Beth to his chest, rubbing her back gently.

“He’s not the only one apparently,” Louis said, nodding at Beth, who was sucking a wrinkle of Zayn’s t-shirt into her mouth.

Harry circled the sofa to get to Zayn, leaning into him and pressing their lips together, his hand coming up to cup Beth’s back gently. Louis rolled his eyes when he saw tongue and cut in between them, waving his hands in their faces.

“Not in front of the baby, you fools. Let me put her in her pen and we can eat. You guys are worse than teenagers, I swear.”

“Harry still is, that’s why,” Zayn muttered, pushing his boyfriend away with a laugh and handing Beth to Louis, who was groaning good-naturedly.

“Great, I’m glad your room isn’t against my wall,” he muttered before settling Beth into her playpen.

Louis saw the glint in Zayn’s eye as he straightened up and acted almost before the raven-haired boy’s mouth opened. Quick as a flash, Louis’ hand shot forward and covered Zayn’s mouth. “I know we’ve known each other only about 30 minutes, but I know exactly what dirty things you’re going to insinuate and I haven’t been laid since Beth was conceived, do you understand?”

Zayn’s teeth grazed his palm but he held firm.

“You can pay us back when you meet your Prince Charming,” Harry suggested. Louis glared at him and he hurriedly added, “Or Princess Charming, we don’t judge.”

Zayn pulled back with a laugh, throwing an arm around Louis’ shoulders as they shuffled into the kitchen. “I think we’re going to have great fun, Lou.”

“I think I shouldn’t let random curly fellows in my flat after midnight anymore.”

“Probably safer that way,” Harry nodded sagely. “Not all of them are as great as I am.”

**Author's Note:**

> Up next, Harry sets up Louis on a date and he meets Nick, but these two things do not happen at the same time.
> 
> Come say hi: [tumblr](http://sa-voix.tumblr.com/)


End file.
